Blood Promise (A SkinWalker Novel #4) (A DarkWorld SkinWalker Novel) (29 page)

I held one of Grams' old handkerchiefs to my face as I half-limped half-walked to O'Hagan's.

The tiny cuts made by the flying chips of concrete would heal soon enough, along with the sprained ankle that I'd only noticed after Blake had escaped.

His henchmen hadn't come to his rescue, neither had they come to kill me, so that made me think there was more going on than I knew.

And he'd been saved at the last minute.

Someone powerful was protecting him, and I wasn't going to sit around waiting to find out who.

The doorbell tinkled as I pushed into the bar. Its aroma of alcohol and fried bar food smelled familiar and comforting. No wonder it had become my go-to place when I needed down-time. I hoped the sense of comfort would last a while longer.

I slid into the booth where Anjelo sat hunched over.

Alone

Something in my gut twisted, a premonitory twinge. "Where's Lily?"
 

He was silent but when I kicked him under the table he raised his eyes to mine.

"She's missing."

I felt dizzy.
Deja vu
dizzy.

"What?" I failed to keep my voice down.

Anjelo didn't seem to care much. "I don't know how it happened. One moment she was there, then next she was gone.

"'There'
where
?" I leaned forward. "Storm said you were both out doing something for me."

Anjelo's eyes widened, and anger flared in their depths. Anger and disbelief. "That's a lie. Storm sent us to investigate the disappearance of the two City Deep kids."

"Storm said there were murders, but he was certain that you two were investigating something for me." I frowned thinking about the files he'd sent--and about the ones he hadn't. Two files on two of his missing teens. None of the follow-up information he'd promised.

"Storm told you that?" Anjelo couldn't have looked more stunned if I'd slapped him across the face.

I nodded. "Something is rotten in the state of City Deep."

"Yes," he said. "It is."

"Tell me."

Anjelo took a moment. "Storm sent us to check out the two missing kids; Emma and Simon. They're both mages. One's an air mage, the other a fire. Em's still in training but she'll never be very powerful. We call her our Power Puff girl."

Funny. Sad. "How did they go missing?"

Anjelo shrugged. "Storm just said they were gone and Lily and I went to look for them."
 

When he stopped talking I knew he was trying to process the fact that Storm had lied to us all. No time for that now. "And?"

"We tracked them to the train station, up one of the older abandoned tunnels."

I nodded. "How were they killed?"

His mouth went tight. "Bullet to the chest. One each."

"Neon blue residue?"

Anjelo blinked. "How did you know?"

"It's been cropping up all over the place. Someone knows how to kill paranormals and turned the knowledge into a versatile weapon."

"Shit," he said, his expression dark.

"So tell me what happened to Lily?" He didn't respond immediately. "Come on Anjelo, talk to me."

"We were investigating the scene and she disappeared."

"Just like that?"

He nodded.

"You looked for her?" Of course he did.

"Scanned the whole area three times. There wasn't a sign of her anywhere."

"Did you shift?" He nodded again. "Couldn't get her scent?"

"Nothing."
 

This wasn't the first time Anjelo had lost Lily. I was amazed he wasn't falling apart. "Okay, Lily's gone. Tell me about the kids."

"Kai!" Anjelo was genuinely horrified.

I laughed. "Anjelo, she's been abducted before. Tortured horrifically, and she survived. She's strong."

"So
you
say."

"Yes, I do. And I also say we need to think logically if we're going to get her back. So tell me about the kids that were killed. How long have they been dead?"

 
"About two days, from the state of decay." He wasn't happy, and sounded it.

"Do you know where the bodies are now? Maybe we can get Nerina to speak to the spirits of the kids?"

"That's going to be a little difficult," he snapped. "The bodies disappeared when Lily did."

Crap. "So they took the bodies to stop the kids' spirits from communicating and giving us information. Why take Lily?" Wrong place, wrong time?

"Because she was there when they came for the bodies," he said. "And now we have no idea where she is or what they're doing to her, and Em's spirit can't help us--"

"Not true," I said. "I know one way to speak to the kids."

His uncomprehending melted slowly into understanding. Then into disbelief. "Kai, you can't go to the Graylands again."
 

There was more than a hint of horror in his voice but his heart wasn't in the objection. Because of Lily.

"It might be our only chance to find out who took her," I said. "It could be the only way to track her. And to save her."
 

I
HELD
THE
PORTAL
KEY
in my hand, and felt the cool bite of the iron disk against my flesh. The disk gleamed, midnight moonlight dancing off the carved lettering, giving the key, and the clear night an eerie feel.
 

The late fall temperature had dropped to near discomfort. All across the lake' glassy surface mist rose from the water like ghostly fingers.

I stood, the toes of my boots on the edge of the dilapidated wooden dock, taking in deep breaths of frigid night air, readying for the jump.

I'd done it before, but the idea of being sucked through that tiny donut hole in the center of the portal key made my stomach turn no matter how much magic was involved.

"Kai, you don't have to do this," said Anjelo from behind me, his sports jacket rustling loudly in the silent night.

Though his words said one thing, his tone said something else entirely. He knew how important it was that I made this trip to the dead lands. If anything, he needed me to go more than I did.

To my left, Nerina was somber as her skirts flapped, a sudden brisk wind rippling their material over her curvaceous legs.

"I will be with you, Kai," she said. "Although, I'm not sure I can do much more than be a voice in your head while you are there." Her pale face was corpselike, draped with the shadows of the night.

I shook my head. "Thanks, but you don't need to worry about me. I've done this before."

Which I had. Without any help.

"Nevertheless." Her tone was firm, edged with a hint of persistence. "I will be with you. You just never know."
 

I moved to face her. Was she accompanying me, in whatever insubstantial form, because Kira had commanded it?
 

She obviously saw the suspicion in my eyes because she inclined her head sadly. "However, if you really don't want me with you I shall remain here and await your return."

I was suddenly ashamed of my own stubbornness. "I'm sorry. It's not that I don't trust you." And it wasn't.

Her pale eyes lit for a few seconds. "I know." It was slowly becoming easier to identify her tiny facial and behavioral nuances. "It's Lady Kira you don't trust. And that's understandable. Shall I stay here and wait for word from you? If at any time you need me, I will come."

I frowned. I'd never called her myself. She'd always been summoned by Jess, or called on by an agent of either Sentinel or Omega. "And how will you do that? Did the dead lands get cell service while I wasn't watching?"
 

Nerina smiled and shifted, her hand appearing almost magically from the folds of her voluminous sleeves. When she opened her long slender fingers a small metal disk lay in the center of her palm.

It was a smaller version of the portal key I held in my own hand. Smaller, and gleaming bronze, not iron.

I put the larger portal key into my jacket pocket then took the bronze disk from Nerina. I weighed it in my palm, turning it over to study the inscriptions that shone in the white light of the moon.

Nerina leaned closer. "This is a key much like your portal key. But think of it as a telegraph-machine, able to transcend the veil between the worlds."
 

"How do I use it?" I asked, still turning the coin-like disk over in my hand.

She took the disk from me. Pointed a pale finger at one of the seven symbols carved on the surface. "This one that looks like the half moon. Place your thumb on it and say my name. Then trace the pad of your thumb along all seven symbols in a clockwise fashion. Repeat the action three times, then say my name again. The key will call to me, and I will hear it."

This was all very strange. "How can you hear it?"
 

"Do you recall the ceremony in which your portal key was created?"
 

I nodded.
 

"Your blood was used to generate the final spelling to ensure that the key was coded to you, and you alone. My blood has been used to generate the power of this key in much the same way. Death talkers use keys like this to communicate with close family members and other important people in their lives."

It made sense now. I gave a wry smile. "Is this how Kira communicates with you?"

"Yes," she said simply, and handed back the key. Clearly she was at Kira's beck and call, and now I knew how.

I nodded slowly, staring at the shining metal in my palm.
 

I wasn't about to lie. I was touched. Nerina was giving me more than a way of contacting her. She was giving me her trust. She'd backed off even though she'd probably been given express instructions by Kira to stick with me at all times. That was huge.

I looked up at her and smiled, my gratitude genuine. "Thank you, Nerina," I said. "I'm honored."
 

Maybe it was the strange shadows cast by the clouds as they skittered across the face of the moon, but I could have sworn she blushed.
 

I'd come prepared for a hunt--wearing jeans, leather jacket, and boots, all black, and well-used and comfortable for running, fighting and killing. I slid Nerina's key into my jeans pocket, took the portal key from my jacket. And held it tightly.

I glanced over my shoulder at Anjelo. He'd been strangely quiet but I understood his mood. "Tell my parents and Logan where I've gone," I said.
 

His head jerked in a parody of a nod. "Maybe we won't need to worry them. You'll be back soon."

"Anjelo," I said, warning clear in my voice. "You will tell them. They deserve to know
before
something bad happens."

"What makes you think something bad will happen?"
 

I glared at him.
 

"Then why don't you tell them now before you jump to the dead lands?" he asked, teasing now.

"Because they won't let me go if I do."

The truth echoed in the silence. Anjelo pierced me pleading eyes. "Kai, please find her."

"Planning on it. Let's hope those kids can tell me something." I didn't say we'd be truly lucky if their spirits had remained at the scene long enough to see what happened to Lily. I didn't have to.

"I knew this was a long shot." He was already starting to sound like he'd lost hope.

"Stop it," I snapped, rounding on him so fast he almost flinched. "Don't give up before we even try."

He hung his head. "I just want her back, Kai."

I placed a palm to his cheek. Beneath the bravado lay a frightened boy, and he couldn't hide from me. "I will do everything I can to bring her back. I can't do more than that."
 

I paused, staring his fear down. "Be strong, Anjelo. And stay with Logan. Help him find out more about Blake. Logan isn't going to like it but I left him a message about what happened earlier today."

"
What
happened earlier?"